Dow Jones raises emerging markets free float cover

The coverage of emerging stock markets in Dow Jones’s worldwide index has been increased to 95% of free float market capitalisation from its former 80% level.

The move follows a quarterly review and raises the number of components comprising the index to 5,046 from 4,801.

“ This major step will provide individual and institutional investors with a broader and thus more effective tool to measure the markets on a global scale,” says Michael Petronella, managing director of Dow Jones Indexes. “ As the developed markets in our Dow Jones World Index cover 95% of the underlying market capitalisation already, our index family now becomes consistent across all markets,” he adds.

The market coverage in the index is raised in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Venezuela. The number of components in these markets will rise from 608 to 824.